Improved apparatus for puddling iron



2 Sheets -Sheet L J. GRIFFITHS.

Apparatus for Puddling Iron. No. 48,485. Patentedlune 27, 1865.

2 SheetsShet 2. J. GRIFFITHS.

Apparatus for Puddling Iron. No. 48,485. Patented June 27, 1865 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN GRIFFITHS, OF LITGHUROH, COUNTY OF DERBY, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TOHIMSELF AND Z. S. DUEFEE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PUDDLING IRON.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 18,485, dated June 27,1865.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN GRIFFITHS, ofLitchurch, in the county of Derby, in that part of the United Kingdom ofGreat Britain and Ireland called England, have invented a new and usefulMachine for Puddling Iron and Steel, which may also be used for otherpurposes; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear,and exact description-of the construction and operation of the same,reference being had to the annexed drawings, makingpart of thisspecification, in whic h Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine asplaced upon a puddling-furnace; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same,and Fig. 3 a plan View.

In the differentillustrations the same letters and figures of referenceindicate the same parts of the machine.

0 is a circular bed-plate, provided with ears through which it isfastened to the. furnace. d is another circular plate, rotating on ballsrolling in a groove in c, and bearing thejib q, to which thepaddling-rabble is suspended by the hanger r. This plate (I also carriesthe standard h, which supports the main gearing of the machine.

The shaftfhas its lower bearing atg in the plate 0, its upper at g inthe curved end of the standard h, and it also works in a collar orjournal on the plate d, so that while the plate at carries with it inits partial rotation the standardh, the proper relative position of thedifferent parts of the machinery attached thereto with the shaftf isnevertheless always maintained. In factf is both the main drivingshaftand a pillar round which the machinery swings in communicating thenecessary traversing-motion to the rabble. The shaftf is driven by thebeveled gear 2' and 7c communicating with the motive power by theshaft 1. The pulley m works loosely on the shaft 1, and the machine isthrown in and out of gear by the clutch a in the usual way.

The shaft f might be connected directly to the shaft of a small rotaryengine, or driven by any other means; but when the power for the machineis taken from a line of shaftin g the arrangement here shown is the mostconvenient.

as isa crank attached to the upper end of the shaft f, and giving motionto the hanger r by the connecting-rod 3 The connecting-rod yis joined toboth the crank 00 and the hanger r by universal joints, and as theconnection 8 of the hanger with thejib q is of the same free characterthe motion communicated by the crank to the hanger',and through it tothe puddlingrabble, though mainly reciprocatory, or from the front tothe backof the furnace, is quite complex in its character, and resemblesthe movement produced by hand. The reciprocatory or hack-and-forthmotion of the rabble being thus obtained, it now remains to show thetraversing motion from side to side of the furnace, so as to bring therabble to bear on all parts of the metal and thoroughly stir it.

From the shaft f the beveled-gear wheel 3, through the correspondingwheel, 4, drives the shaft 5, on the end of which is a pinion working inthe hollow endless rack 8, which is fastened firmly to the framing bywhich the machine is attached to the furnace. The shaft 5 has its chiefsupport in the bearing 6, which is consequently made of extra length,and it is provided with the universal joint 7, so thatits pinion maytraverse round the curves at either end of the rack 8. This rack iscurved horizontally to an are described with the distance from theshaftf as a radius, and it has a guideplate, 10, between the upper andlower rows of teeth, whereby the pinion of the shaft '5 is keptconstantly in gear. The bar 11 is fastened at one end firmly to theplate d, but at the other it is forked and incloses the shaft 5, so thatwhile the shaft is free to move vertically in traversing the ends of therack its lateral motion from side to side produced by the pinionfollowing the rack is communicated by the bar 11 to the bed-plate d, andthence through the jib g and hanger r to the rabble. The end'of the jibq, and consequently the forked hanger 'r, carrying the rabble, thusmakes a sweep from side to side in front of the furnace of precisely thesame character as the curve of the rack 8, and by making this curvelonger or shorter the rabble can be made to travel to a greater or lessextent in the furnace.

In practice it is found unnecessary to vary the curve of the rack, as alength somewhat less than a quarter-circle fulfills all therequirements.

The how 2 has a shape and size correspond ing to the manner and extentin which it may be desirable to control the movements of the hanger, andconsequently the rabble, and by means of its variations the rabble maybe made to work round the sides or" a furnace-bottom which is quiteirregular in its form. This bow 2 isnot, however, absolutely necessaryin the application of the machine to puddling-furnaces of the morecommon form.

It will be seen that the shaft f, around which, as before shown, all themovements of the machine are made, does not stand directly over thefront of the furnace, and consequently, as the working-hole is small,when thejib q approaches each extremity of the curve through which itsweeps the rabble brings up against the sides of the working-hole, thusproducing a leverage in its operation. At the same time that thisleverage occurs-that is, when the jib is at each end of the sweep-thepinion on the shaft 5 is working up or down the curved ends of the rack8, and as the lateral motion of the shaft, and consequently the partialrotation of the plate (1 and sweep of thejib q, is thereby for the timebeing nearly or quite suspended, during this interval the crank 00 givesthe rabble a few back-and-forth strokes in nearly the same position inthe furnace, and as at this time the rabble is working upon the j ambsof the furnace the leverage before mentioned,combined with the repeatedreciprocating strokes, and aided by the suppleness of the joints of therabble, causes it to sweep the jambs completely clean of any particlesof metal which would otherwise adhere and which could not be reached bya rigidly-operating tool.

The end of the hanger 1" has a double fork, which is used as follows:When the-fettling in the furnace is new the rabble is worked in the forka. After the fettlin g is considerably worn it becomes necessary toincrease the length of the stroke of the rabble, which is done byaltering the position of the crank-pin z in its slot in m,- but as thefront of the furnace has no fettling, and is consequently unaltered, itis only desirable to compensate for the wear at the back, and then therabble is worked in the fork it. Thus while by the increase of thelength of stroke the wear at the back is compensated for, by shiftingthe rabble forward it is still made to traverse to its original positionin the front of the furnace.

Instead of the double fork on the hanger double pins in the rabble, atsuitable distance apart, will, in conjunction with a single fork on thehanger, accomplish the purposes last described.

The machine can be attached to any ordinary furnace; but when newfurnaces are being made I should recommend their being made larger thanusual, and that the bottom be at least eleven inches deep.

Having thus described my improved appa. ratus and its operation, I wishit to be understood that I do not claim the use of machinery in puddling iron or steel, nor all the details of my said apparatus, as some ofthem are well known devices. Neither, on the contrary, do I limit myselfto the precise arrangement of the parts I have herein shown; but

What I claim as myinvention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. Attaching the jib g, which carries the hanger 1", through theintervention of which motion is communicated from the crank 00 to therabble or stirring-tool o, in puddling and other operations, to a baseor plate, at, which is movable automatically in a horizontal plane,substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described.

2. Giving a reciprocating lateral motion in an arc of a circle to thejib q, and consequently to the hanger 1', through the partial rotationof the movable plate d, produced by means of the curved endless rack 8and the jointed shaft 5, having on its end a pinion working in saidrack, and which carries With it the forked lever 11, substantially ashereinbet'ore shown.

3. Controlling the movement of the hanger and rabble by means of a how,2, proportioned in shape and dimensions to the character and extent ofthe furnace-bottom in which the rabble is to work.

at. Providing the free end of the hanger r, to which the rabble isattached, with a double fork, or the rabble with double pins, atsuitable distance apart to compensate for the irregular enlargement ofthe furnace-bottom.

5. Placing the axis around which all the movements of the apparatus aremade so far back of the line of the working-hole as to produce aleverage in the action 'of the rabble at certain stages of theoperations, in order to clean the jambs of the furnace.

6. Communicating the peculiar stirring motion to a stirring-tool orrabble in puddlin g or other operations by loosely attaching the freeend of the tool to a hanging rod, to the point of suspension of whichareciprocating motion is given from side to side, while a simultaneousbut more rapid motion is given to the hanging rod or tool-holder to andfro in the direction of the tool by means of the combination of devicesfor that purpose, constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbeforede' scribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN GRIFFITH-S.

Witnesses:

EDWARD GREEWAY, A. GAMBLE,

Clerk to Mr. Leech, Solicitor, Derby.

